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User blog:Readerno33/Side Note No 1
So I decided to start another line of blog entries for things that don't really fit into the Taking in Seriously space and so I came up with the title of Side Notes. So this line of entries will focus on scenes that catch my attention and for other things that I couldn't put into Taking It Seriously line. I plan to talk about a series that we can't really find in this line of entries so do look forward to that. So what prompted this first entry was my recent posting for the Transformers ' "Ultimate Doom" episodes. While putting the screenshots up, some scenes in Part 2 caught my attention. 2019-10-05 (136).png 2019-10-05 (137).png 2019-10-05 (138).png 2019-10-05 (139).png 2019-10-05 (140).png 2019-10-05 (141).png 2019-10-05 (142).png So the storyline is that the Decepticons capture Sparkplug Witwicky as the test subject for Dr. Arkeville's hypno-chip, making him the first hypno-chip slave who works for the Decepticons. In Part 2, after Sparkplug and the other hypno-chip slaves are exposed to audio disruptor waves, Dr. Arkeville reimplants the slaves with new hypno-chips. The sequence in which Sparkplug gets his new chip had me noticing a few things. So let me go down the line of images and point out some things. Image #1: The Box of Hypno-chips The first thing that caught my eye is that Dr. Arkeville is using a chip well into the line of chips for Sparkplug, which means he's not the first hypno-chip slave to be re-implanted with a chip. When you count it out, Dr. Arkeville is using the eleventh chip on Sparkplug, which means ten other slaves got implanted before Sparkplug. So what happened to put Sparkplug the first hypno-chip slave at some distance from the head of the line? This is an interesting question especially as Sparkplug got taken back to the Decepticon base in Skywarp whereas the other hypno-chip slaves had to run back to whatever transport took them. The second thing to notice about the box is how many chips are in the box. There are 30 chips in each row and six rows which means 180 chips, of which 10 have been implanted and #11 is going on Sparkplug. So another 169 slaves will get chips after Sparkplug. So the Decepticons were really out getting people for Arkeville to turn into slaves. We get a sense of that in the hypno-slaves who attack the Aubobots, but again where did they get all the people who became hypno-chip slaves? Images 2-5: The Location of Sparkplug's New Chip Sparkplug's new chip is placed behind his left ear; when you go back to Part 1 you notice that Dr. Arkeville put Sparkplug's first hypno-chip behind his right ear. So what prompts the change in position? The next two images reveal why the change. This time around Dr. Arkeville is using a laser to secure the hypno-chip in position. The laser's location on the ceiling and adjustment interface put Dr. Arkeville on the left side of Sparkplug which in turn means that the chip's location changes from the right to the left. Sparkplug really doesn't have a say in the matter, being the hypno-chip slave and all, but image #2 and the image from Part 1 prompt a few questions. Is Sparkplug still under the control of a hypno-chip as he's on the table? Up until he gets to the table Sparkplug was being controlled by the hypno-chip behind his right ear; if Arkeville is implanting the new chip on his left ear, did he remove the right side chip? If so, then for a time Sparkplug is not under the control of a hypno-chip. If Arkeville leaves the right chip, implants the left one, and then removes the right one, that would mean Sparkplug is controlled by two hypno-chips. Could that be possible without impacting Sparkplug's neural health? My tendency is to go with option #1, which could explain why Sparkplug struggles a bit before the chip is lasered into position. Another question comes from Arkeville lasering the hypno-chip into position. Up until now, the chip didn't need to be lasered into position; so what changed? One major thing is the audio disruptor waves Soundwave used; those disrupted the chip's control. So it might seem like that is what's driving this, but Arkeville never really says this. All he says that in response to the disruptor waves, he'll create more hypno-chip slaves. So it's not the disruptor waves that drive the lasering the chips into place. Maybe it's just the next phase in Arkeville's chip design. The chips in the box seem a bit more complex than the original Arkeville put on Sparkplug, so maybe it should be chalked up to upgrading. The more complex chip needs to be fastened into place. The more complex chip does light up when it activates and brings the slave back under control; we see that later in the episode when Sparkplug and Spike meet up on Cybertron. So it might be best to put this under chip upgrade. Image #6: Sparkplug Losing Consciousness? The last image of the sequence prompts questions largely because of an image that appears in the final episode of the arc. In the recap to part 3, Sparkplug's implanting scene is shown again with one major change: Sparkplug opens his eyes. You can see that the part 3 image is different in color and brightness from the part 2 image, but the two images prompt questions from me. So why would Sparkplug lose consciousness once Arkeville lasers the chip into place? When Arkeville first implanted Sparkplug with the hypno-chip he was conscious and trying to escape until Dr. Arkeville restrain him. One could argue that the pain from the laser to that part of the ear was enough to put Sparkplug out, but who really knows. What the part 3 image calls into question is the next shot in the part 2 sequence. With Sparkplug out, Rumble has to pick Sparkplug up and take him to the holding chamber where the other hypno-chip slaves before him have been put. The part 3 image suggests that Rumble is not really needed; Arkeville would only need to tell Sparkplug to go to the holding chamber and then release him from the table. It all rests on how autonomous Sparkplug and the other hypno-chip slaves can be. It does seem like they do need to be ordered and merely follow orders, but there are moments that show Sparkplug to be more autonomous, such as how he tries to convince and even drag Spike to join the Decepticons. Raising this discussion about autonomy in Sparkplug's mind control makes me want to think about the issue in most of the series that appear on this Wiki. That will be something else to write in the space of these Side Notes entries, so be on the lookout for that in the future. Category:Blog posts